![Jännerstreik 1918 in Wiener Neustadt](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/79/J%C3%A4nnerstreik_1918_in_Wiener_Neustadt.png)
The 1918 Austro-Hungarian January strike was a strike which spread across
Austria-Hungary
Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...
between January 3 and 25, 1918 demanding better living and working conditions and an end to
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
. It is known as the "Jännerstreik" as opposed to the "
Januarstreik
The German strike of January 1918 was a strike against World War I which spread across the German Empire. It lasted from 25 January to 1 February 1918. It is known as the "Januarstreik", as distinct from the " Jännerstreik" which preceded it spr ...
" – a similar strike movement which lasted from 25 January to 1 February 1918 in Germany – Jänner being the usual spelling for January in Austria.
Prelude
There had been strikes in early 1917 by Viennese workers in response to food shortages. However by the winter of 1917 the situation had got worse. However news of the
Bolshevik seizure of power in Russia encouraged workers in
Vienna
en, Viennese
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and more generally across Europe to emulate their example with the demand that the war be ended or more strikes would be organised.
The leadership of the
Sozialdemokratische Arbeiterpartei Österreichs (SDAPÖ) was slow to react although the youth wing of the party started to organise and local sections also prepared for action. In early January the party took a clearer anti-war position, particularly in relation to the
Brest-Litovsk negotiations and convened three large meetings in Vienna on Sunday 13 January. On 6 January a demonstration by 4,000 angry Hungarian workers in
Budapest
Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population ...
occurred outside the
German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
**Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ger ...
Consulate.
They actively supported the peace plan of the Bolshevik negotiator,
Adolph Joffe
Adolph Abramovich Joffe (russian: Адо́льф Абра́мович Ио́ффе, alternative transliterations Adol'f Ioffe or, rarely, Yoffe) (10 October 1883 in Simferopol – 16 November 1927 in Moscow) was a Russian revolutionary, a Bo ...
, and several windows of the consulate were smashed. By the 13 January, the three large meetings had grown to five and the topic was "The Peace Negotiation in Brest-Litovsk and Social Democracy". Ellenbogen, Domes and
Karl Renner
Karl Renner (14 December 1870 – 31 December 1950) was an Austrian politician and jurist of the Social Democratic Workers' Party of Austria. He is often referred to as the "Father of the Republic" because he led the first government of German-A ...
delivered speeches in which they said that a victorious peace was impossible. However they were heckled by workers calling out "Long Live the Austrian Revolution".
The strike begins
When the flour ration was halved on 14 January 1918 the workers in
Wiener Neustadt
Wiener Neustadt (; ; Central Bavarian: ''Weana Neistod'') is a city located south of Vienna, in the state of Lower Austria, in northeast Austria. It is a self-governed city and the seat of the district administration of Wiener Neustadt-Land Distr ...
, particularly the 4,500 working for
Austro-Daimler
Austro-Daimler was an Austro-Hungarian automaker company, from 1899 until 1934. It was a subsidiary of the German ''Daimler-Motoren-Gesellschaft'' (DMG) until 1909.
Early history
In 1890, Eduard Bierenz was appointed as Austrian retailer. The com ...
downed tools and went on strike. The strike soon spread to the nearby
Wiener Neustädter Lokomotivfabrik
The ''Wiener Neustädter Lokomotivfabrik'' (Wiener Neustadt locomotive factory) was the largest locomotive and engineering factory in the Austro-Hungarian Empire. During World War II the company produced armaments as part of Rax-Werk Ges.mbH ...
and through factories in
Lower Austria
Lower Austria (german: Niederösterreich; Austro-Bavarian: ''Niedaöstareich'', ''Niedaestareich'') is one of the nine states of Austria, located in the northeastern corner of the country. Since 1986, the capital of Lower Austria has been Sankt P ...
and to the
Lokomotivfabrik Floridsdorf
Lokomotivfabrik Floridsdorf (Floridsdorf locomotive factory) was an Austrian locomotive works founded on 6 September 1869 that achieved a pre-eminent place amongst European locomotive builders thanks to the quality and diversity of its designs.
Co ...
which employed over 1,000 workers in
Vienna
en, Viennese
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, postal_code_type = Postal code
, postal_code =
, timezone = CET
, utc_offset = +1
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.
“Arbeiter und Arbeiterinnen!” Arbeiter Zeitung, 16 January 1918
/ref> By 18 January over 110,000 of the total Viennese workforce of 350,000-370,000 people were on strike. From the strike meetings workers' councils
A workers' council or labor council is a form of political and economic organization in which a workplace or municipality is governed by a council made up of workers or their elected delegates. The workers within each council decide on what thei ...
were established as a form of participatory democracy
Participatory democracy, participant democracy or participative democracy is a form of government in which citizens participate individually and directly in political decisions and policies that affect their lives, rather than through elected rep ...
. The executive of the Sozialdemokratische Arbeiterpartei Österreichs (SDAPÖ) had drawn up a list of demands to be presented to the government. These were accepted by the workers' council. On January 19, Workers' Council received a delegation led by Count Ottokar Czernin
Ottokar Theobald Otto Maria ''Graf'' Czernin von und zu Chudenitz ( cs, Otakar Theobald Otto Maria hrabě Černín z Chudenic; 26 September 1872 – 4 April 1932) was an Austro-Hungarian diplomat and politician during the time of World War I, nota ...
, the Minister of Foreign Affairs
A foreign affairs minister or minister of foreign affairs (less commonly minister for foreign affairs) is generally a cabinet minister in charge of a state's foreign policy and relations. The formal title of the top official varies between cou ...
who promised that territorial demands would not jeopardise the peace negotiations. The Minister-president
A minister-president or minister president is the head of government in a number of European countries or subnational governments with a parliamentary or semi-presidential system of government where they preside over the council of ministers. It ...
, Ernst Seidler von Feuchtenegg
Ernst Wilhelm Engelhardt Ritter Seidler von Feuchtenegg (5 June 1862, Schwechat, Lower Austria – 23 January 1931, Vienna) was an Austrian statesman. He served as Minister-President of Austria from 1917 until 1918. His daughter was the ac ...
promised to reform the war benefits and to establish a food service and the democratisation of municipal election law. In a turbulent session during the night of Saturday 19-20 January, the Workers' Council accepted the SDAPÖ proposal to call the workforce to resume work on Monday, January 21.
The strike in Hungary
The strike was started by Budapest
Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population ...
Tram
A tram (called a streetcar or trolley in North America) is a rail vehicle that travels on tramway tracks on public urban streets; some include segments on segregated right-of-way. The tramlines or networks operated as public transport are ...
workers on the morning of 18 January. They were protesting about the ban on reports of the events in Austria. By noon the strike had spread across all industries, and 40,000 workers took part in fifteen different demonstrations which were prevented by the police from converging on the centre of Budapest. The Hungarian Social Democratic Party
The Social Democratic Party of Hungary ( hu, Magyarországi Szociáldemokrata Párt, MSZDP) is a social democratic political party in Hungary. Historically, the party was dissolved during the occupation of Hungary by Nazi Germany (1944–1945) ...
declared a general strike. The following day the strike spread to Nagykanizsa
Nagykanizsa (; hr, Velika Kaniža/Velika Kanjiža, or just ''Kaniža/Kanjiža''; german: Großkirchen, Groß-Kanizsa; it, Canissa; sl, Velika Kaniža; tr, Kanije), known colloquially as Kanizsa, is a medium-sized city in Zala County in southw ...
and Szeged
Szeged ( , ; see also #Etymology, other alternative names) is List of cities and towns of Hungary#Largest cities in Hungary, the third largest city of Hungary, the largest city and regional centre of the Southern Great Plain and the county seat ...
.
References
Literature
* ''Borislav Chernev.'' The Great January Strike as a Prelude to Revolution in Austria // Twilight of Empire: The Brest-Litovsk Conference and the Remaking of East-Central Europe, 1917—1918. — University of Toronto Press
The University of Toronto Press is a Canadian university press founded in 1901. Although it was founded in 1901, the press did not actually publish any books until 1911.
The press originally printed only examination books and the university calen ...
, 2017. — PP. 107—152 — 328 p. — . — . — . — {{ISBN, 1487501498.
1918 labor disputes and strikes
Labour movement
Hunger strikes
Politics of World War I
1918 in Austria-Hungary
January 1918 events